Site Background & Local Plan

The site is situated on the eastern side of Leighton Buzzard, to the south of Leighton Road, from where it is accessed.

The site comprises a rectangular area of 1.417ha and forms the western side of a large commercial estate.

The land is occupied by Leighton Buzzard Garden Centre and is set back from the Leighton Road frontage and comprises a single-storey structure alongside a greenhouse section to the south.

The Garden Centre was initially constructed in the mid 1980s and the Day Nursery in the 1997.

A government inspector has concluded that Central Bedfordshire Council cannot demonstrate an adequate 5-year supply of deliverable housing as required by the NPPF. There is an estimated shortfall of between one and two months. This conclusion was drawn on the basis that a number of sites in the Central Bedfordshire Emerging Local Plan were also expected to help deliver Luton’s unmet housing needs.